


candy cane kisses

by JaeRianL



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Candy Canes, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Developing Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romantic Fluff, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaeRianL/pseuds/JaeRianL
Summary: Going to the SHIELD Christmas party has never been high up on Fitz's list of desired social events, but when he's forced to go after nine years of avoidance, he's in for a night he'll certainly never be able to forget.
Relationships: Lance Hunter & Bobbi Morse, Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: Agents of SHIELD Secret Santa 2020





	candy cane kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/gifts).



> This is a Secret Santa Gift for the lovely [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/pseuds/LibbyWeasley)! Hope you like it & have a wonderful Christmas!

Fitz prides himself in having avoided the SHIELD Christmas party since he arrived at the Academy. At the beginning, it had been more due to the fact he had no friends and thus would’ve spent all his time sitting alone in a corner, but when Simmons had wormed her way into his life, it’d become increasingly difficult to convince his far more sociable best friend that he didn’t need to, and couldn’t, go. But the moment that Skye, Jemma’s girlfriend from Communications, had caught wind of the party, she had been very insistent that they all go together. So insistent that she’d forced Fitz into a nice outfit before dragging him, by his ear, from his flat, using Jemma and her disappointed mum face to get him to stay in the taxi rather than making a break for it.

And despite their continued protests that he wouldn’t be left to sit alone in a corner, Fitz’s nine year streak is broken with him sitting alone in a corner, wearing a Santa hat which is at least half a size too small and is squeezing so hard his head hurts. He slowly nurses a beer that tastes terrible whilst scrolling on his phone while Jemma and Skye mingle with other agents Fitz has heard them talk about, the engineer looking like the epitome of misery. If it wasn’t for the fact that he promised to ensure the women get home safely after the party, leaving them free to get as drunk as they’d like, he would’ve bolted it out of here hours ago. There are a few instances where agents he unfortunately knows, either from the lab or from his cadet days, come over to him and try to spark up conversation with the lonely Scotsman, but after a while, they give up and return to the dance floor.

After an hour of scrolling through social media, and glaring at his phone in the hopes it would speed up time and reduce the boredom flooding through him, Fitz sighs heavily before making his way over to the food table, pocketing some spare napkins and stealing someone’s pen in the hopes that he could stave off the boredom through sketching out some of the ideas running through his mind. He’s determined to fashion some kind of invisibility device, not unlike the invisibility cloak in Harry Potter, just to avoid ever having to come to one of these again, or be subjected to this bloody hat. As he weaves through the crowd, leaving the bottle of “beer” on an empty table so he wouldn’t accidentally drink it only for him to regret consuming it moments later, he senses someone following him, but doesn’t allow the feeling to distract him from his mission. 

Thankfully, his table has remained empty, probably due in part to his notoriously grumpy demeanour, and Fitz settles back down in his seat, sketching out the rough schematics, as well as making a list of the technology he’d need approval for before creating it. At one point, he lifts his head to see Jemma looking at him disapprovingly, but thankfully Skye walks over to her and distracts her, unknowingly saving Fitz from getting guilt tripped into, heaven forbid, going over to the dance floor. However, the temporary distraction means he fails to notice and scare away with a harsh look or two, Agent Lance Hunter, one of the more notorious field agents on base and, more importantly, one of Fitz’s favourite distractions at work, from coming to sit with him. So when he looks over at the man, who is practically vibrating in his seat with uncharacteristically nervous energy, there is little he can do to get the Englishman to leave him alone.

“Is everything alright Agent Hunter?” He asks, using a stern face in the hopes of provoking the man into explaining why the hell he wanted to talk to an antisocial scientist such as himself, over the likes of say, Jemma, or even the likes of Milton for crying out loud, well, maybe not Milton.

“Hi mate, Leo, can I call you that? Great! I know we’ve never spoken before but I kinda made my ex-wife think we’re together, and she’s coming over right now so if you could do me a solid…” he pauses and Fitz is just about to tell him where to go stick it when he feels a presence stop behind him. “Bobbi! Hi! This is Leo!”

While Fitz would love to laugh at the situation, he doubts that Agent Morse, an even more notorious field agent, would take kindly to him simply laughing at her arrival. So instead, he gets up from his seat and offers his hand for her to shake, relying solely on the manners his mother had instilled into him when he was a loudmouthed gobby little shite - his mum’s words, not his - to not curse Hunter out for putting him in such an awkward position. He allows Bobbi to take his former seat, moving to sit in the chair beside Hunter, smiling sweetly at the blonde woman while “accidentally” stepping on his foot as Fitz sits down, a faint victorious sensation rushing through him at the muffled grunt Hunter lets out. 

Fitz thanks his lucky stars that he knows some basic information about Agent Morse, mainly due to both Jemma and Skye’s hero worship/blatantly obvious attraction towards the woman, and so begins to question her about her doctorate. He can see the shock on her face, and he feels a pang of sadness in his gut, feeling terrible about how often her intellect must get overshadowed by her, for lack of a better word, “badassery”. Taking a quick glance in Hunter’s direction, he notices the man staring at him with what only could be described as heart eyes, the man clearly doing his utmost best not to gawp at him. Cataloguing that reaction for another time, preferably without Bobbi in ear shot, Fitz slowly leans into Hunter, giving him time to move away if he isn’t comfortable, and resting his head on Hunter’s shoulder, grinning to himself when he rests an arm around Fitz’s back.

The conversation soon takes a turn towards sharing some (in Fitz’s case made-up) embarrassing stories about Hunter, with Fitz picking up on some of the man’s least attractive qualities as he jokes playfully, Bobbi poking fun at Hunter’s “walrus-like” snoring much to her ex-husband’s displeasure. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Hunter’s face flush bright red, and Fitz has to stifle his laughter as the usually cool, calm, collected and suave Agent Hunter is having his most endearingly embarrassing qualities discussed by his “she-devil” ex-wife and his fake boyfriend. But before he gets the chance to retaliate in any way, Skye and Jemma stumble over, neither woman sober enough to stand without the other’s help. Without saying a word, Jemma lobs a candy cane in Fitz’s direction before turning pink at the sight of Bobbi Morse in a low cut dress sitting at Fitz’s table. He passes one back to her, snorting at the high pitched squeal she lets out at receiving the gift.

“I have to say Fitz, when Hunter told me that you and him were dating, I had my doubts. After all he’s pined after you for so long now, I never thought he’d have the courage to tell you. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t have a halo above your head, not with the way Hunter talks about you.”

Fitz forces out a chuckle, trying his best not to blush as he feels Hunter tense when Bobbi reveals this to him. However, Jemma and Skye soon chime in about how they knew they’d be perfect together, and how Fitz used to stare at Hunter, or more specifically his arse, whenever he came into the lab, and now it’s Fitz’s turn to tense up, he’d forgotten how loose lipped the pair get when they’re both as drunk as a fart.

“I’m just so lucky to have him in my life, look Bobbi, you wouldn’t mind doing me a favour would you?”

“Take these two home so you and Hunter can have some alone time?”

“How did y… never mind, yes, please, we got a taxi here so if you wouldn’t mind driving them back to their flat, I’ll owe you one I swear.”

Bobbi waves off his offer, smirking at the shorter man while Skye and Jemma fawn all over her. Well, it’s safe to say those three are going to have some interesting interactions before morning comes if nothing else. Reluctantly, Fitz pulls away from Hunter’s warm embrace, immediately grabbing the taller man’s hand so that they remain in the same orbit. After saying their goodbyes, Fitz having to slap a hand over Skye’s mouth when her suggestions over what Fitz and Hunter could do together become lewder by the moment, he leads the field agent through the crowds, stopping briefly at the cloakroom to grab his coat and scarf, bundling himself up snuggly, bracing himself for the harsh and relentlessly unforgiving New York winter winds. 

Walking out of the building and across the road to the nearby car park, Fitz absentmindedly twirls the candy cane Jemma had gifted him earlier between his fingers, listening attentively to Hunter’s ramblings, rubbing his thumb against the older man’s calloused knuckles. When they finally make it to Hunter’s car, plain and unassuming as any field agent’s vehicle should be, Fitz reluctantly pulls away from Hunter, pocketing the candy cane briefly so that he can briskly rub his hands together in an attempt to preserve the Englishman’s unnatural warmth. Sliding into the front seat, Fitz thanks all of the technological gods ever to exist for the invention of heated seats, not to mention Hunter for being a gem and turning them on so that he can sink into the leather upholstery.

Rather than tell Hunter to drive Fitz home, he asks him to take them to the Englishman’s flat instead, not wanting to risk any potential interruptions from a very hungover Skye or Jemma or both, both women being, in the nicest way possible, absolutely unbearable when suffering from a hangover. In fear of saying the wrong thing before they manage to work out any of the kinks in their potential relationship, Fitz fiddles with the candy cane, breaking the wrapper and sucking on the end of it to distract himself from the numerous questions whizzing around his head. However, what he fails to notice is Hunter’s eyes frequently falling towards the candy cane, and his grip tightening on the gear stick as he drives back to his flat.

When they finally pull up to the private car park, Hunter is certain that he is going to go absolutely insane, and that Fitz is either a very cruel man, or totally oblivious to the impact that he has on Hunter. He practically leaps out of the driver’s seat, muttering under his breath about how Bobbi would kill him if he jumped the scientist’s bones (no matter how pretty he is) before addressing the elephant in the room. So, like a gentleman, he opens Fitz’s door for him, offering his hand out and grinning victoriously when the curly haired man takes it without hesitation. Leading him towards the lift, doing his utmost best to draw his eyes from the poxy candy cane resting between Fitz’s plump red lips, and failing repeatedly, he takes some calming breaths as he thinks over how he’s going to broach the impending conversation.

Thankfully, the lift doesn’t take too long to reach his floor, and none of the more talkative residents get in and thus distract him from Fitz’s presence. Hunter speeds towards his flat, unlocking the door and motioning for Fitz to take a seat on the sofa while he gets them some glasses of water - anything to distract him from that bloody sweet treat that is derailing all of Hunter’s train of thought, which he is more than capable of, _Barbara_. However when he takes a seat beside Fitz on the sofa, and watches how his throat tilts upwards elegantly and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, he soon realises that this is no better a distraction from his physical attraction towards the curly haired man.

“Shit.” He mutters, rubbing his hands over his face before taking a deep breath and turning to Fitz, concern written all over the Scotsman’s face. 

“What Hunter? What’s wrong?”

For someone who is usually full of words, and always has something to say, Hunter finds himself rendered totally speechless at the man before him. So, in what could be the daftest move he has ever made, he pulls Fitz into a bruising kiss, marvelling in the sweetness of Fitz’s lips combined with the soft little whimpers he lets out. Thankfully, he isn’t pushed away or called every name under the sun, instead Fitz sinks into the kiss, playfully nipping at Hunter’s bottom lip before pulling away when the need for oxygen outweighs their ability to continue.

“Not that I don’t appreciate being kissed like that, because I do, but I think we need to talk about everything first, don’t you?” Fitz asks gently, caressing Hunter’s face and rubbing a thumb over his cheekbone while the older man blushes prettily.

“It was like Bobbi was saying, I have a thing for you, and was talking about you all the time. And one day, she threatened to tell you how I felt if I didn’t ask you out, said she’d had enough of me pining from afar. So I pretended to ask you out, and then carried on the lie so she wouldn’t get suspicious. But then she was asking to meet you, and honestly it was sheer luck you were at the party tonight, because otherwise she’d have ambushed you in the labs one day with no warning, and then I would be put six feet underground at the very least.”

This evokes a chuckle from Fitz, who beams at the man’s melodramatic imagining. While he had entertained the thought of dating Hunter in the past, or at the very least hooking up with him, Fitz had dismissed these thoughts when seconds later he was reminded of just how antisocial and grumpy he is, especially at work, and how unappealing it must be to potential suitors, especially those who look like and are as nice as Lance Hunter. But sitting here, in Hunter’s flat, the taste of the man’s beer lingering on his lips, it doesn’t seem like such an absurd notion.

“Well we can’t have that now, can we? Especially since you haven’t even taken me out on a date yet.”

“You mean that? That you’d want to go on a date with me?” He asks, his voice cracking as he looks away from Fitz’s bright blue eyes.

“Of course, after all, we have a lot to make up for. I would hate for you to have to continue to lie to your ex-wife about us.”

Within seconds, Fitz finds himself being pushed backwards, lying flat on his back with Hunter straddling his hips, the former mercenary grinning down at him, hazel eyes bright with mischief as he leans down. He nips at Fitz’s pale neck and then gently blows on the harsh red marks already starting to emerge on his skin, before dipping his head lower and focusing his attention to Fitz’s delectable collarbones peeking through his unbuttoned collar. While Fitz is more than happy to carry this on, he doubts that Hunter’s sofa is the most comfortable of places to have their first time together, not to mention the fact that Jemma and Skye, and most definitely Bobbi as well, would kill Hunter if they found out he hadn’t even been taken to bed. So he gently squeezes Hunter’s hips, the field agent pulling away almost immediately, golden brown eyes scanning over Fitz’s face in search of distress.

“Shall we take this to your bedroom, Lance?” He purrs out, internally cheering at the involuntary shiver Hunter lets out.

“Leo.” He breathes out, staring down at the impossible scientist.

Hunter gracefully leaps off of his perch, stretching a hand out to Fitz before eagerly leading him towards his bedroom. They’ve got the whole night together, and Hunter will be damned if he doesn’t manage to get the taste of candy canes out of Fitz’s mouth. Especially when the engineer has the audacity to wake up before him and suck on the previously abandoned treat whilst preparing breakfast for the pair of them first thing in the morning, cheekily winking at him when he notices Hunter’s arrival, and just how flustered he seems at the sight. After all, it’d be just plain rude not to show him just how much Hunter appreciates the taste, yet again.

And so when they wake up for the second time that morning, Fitz’s head resting on Hunter’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, he can’t wait to see what comes to be. In the coming days and weeks, he does all he can to preserve that little bit of Christmas magic that Hunter had ignited in him; having snowball fights in the streets with Jemma, Skye & Bobbi, spending time together putting up the Christmas decorations, even getting Hunter to model that stupid Santa hat. But his absolute favourite thing to do is find a candy cane, or in fact anything peppermint flavoured, just to see how long it’ll take before he tips the other man over the edge. Fitz doesn’t know about Hunter, but there’s one thing he knows for sure, after such little time together: candy cane kisses are his favourite kind.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you thought & come find me on [ Tumblr](https://acetoshikosato.tumblr.com/)! Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Jae <3


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